TEMPE – No. 13 Sun Devil Women’s Tennis welcomes in-state rival Arizona to the Whiteman Tennis Center for a Big 12 Conference matchup at 12 p.m. MST on Saturday, March 14.
The Sun Devils have won 10 straight home matches against the Wildcats, and will aim to get their third conference win of the season this weekend.
Graduate Vivian Ovrootsky continues her successful spring campaign with an 11-0 record in duals, donning a 3-0 record in Big 12 matches. One win in singles on Saturday would be her 60th career dual win.
Junior Emilija Tverijonaite rebounded with two singles victories last weekend, both coming in straight sets, to improve her record in the No. 1 spot of the lineup this season to 8-2. Sophomore Aiya Nupbay won her first two singles matches of the year last weekend to improve to 2-1 this spring.
Live stats will be available on Statbroadcast and fans are encouraged to follow on the team’s social media accounts @sundevilwtennis on Instagram and X, Sun Devil Women’s Tennis on Facebook, and on sundevils.com.
Last time Out:
Arizona State handed then-No. 29 Houston its first loss of the season last Friday in a 4-0 sweep over the Cougars. Junior Sara Svetac and Ovrootsky won on doubles court No. 1, 6-2. Then, the No. 2 pair of Nupbay and sophomore Lily Taylor clinched the doubles point, 6-4. In singles, Tverijonaite cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 win on court one, before Ovrootsky scored the team’s third point with a 6-1, 6-4 win on court three. Nupbay later clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-1 win from the No. 5 position.
The team dropped a 4-3 result to then-No. 25 UCF last Sunday, when the Knights took the doubles point on courts two and three. Tverijonaite tied the match at one with a 6-3, 6-1 win, followed by a second point from Ovrootsky with a 6-3, 7-5 win on court three. Nupbay notched a third point for the Sun Devils, too, with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win from court five. However, UCF managed to win the next two matches on courts two and four to take the match.
Sun Devil outlook:
No. 13 Arizona State (10-4, 2-2 Big 12)
- Since 2000, the Sun Devils have a 27-4 record over the Wildcats. Since 1985, the Sun Devils lead the all-time series 45-13.
- In doubles, ASU is 7-0 in matches when it wins the doubles point and the team is 2-0 this season following a loss.
- No. 19-ranked Tverijonaite has defeated three ranked opponents on her way to a 10-2 record this spring: No. 16 Jana Hossam Salah (USC), No. 84 Raquel Caballero Chica (TCU) and No. 49 Ziva Falkner (Pepp).
- Before the dual season began at the UT Invite, she beat No. 17 Valeria Ray (Vanderbilt).
- Tverijonaite achieved a career high with 24 wins in singles this season, surpassing her sophomore year total of 23.
- She has won 20-or-more matches in all three seasons as a Sun Devil.
- Ovrootsky leads the team with 11 wins this dual season, including a perfect 10-0 mark from the No. 3 position. She has won 22 of her last 23 sets since the season began.
- The Sun Devils are 6-1 this season when they win a singles match from the No. 4 position.
- Svetac and Ovrootsky, as a pair, won both of their doubles matches last weekend, improving to 4-2 this season.
- ASU is 6-2 this season when Tverijonaite wins from the No. 1 spot.
- Freshman Sarang Lim has a 4-2 record from the No. 6 spot and a 3-1 record in three-set matches this spring.
Opponent outlook
No. 34 Arizona (10-7, 2-2 Big 12)
- The Wildcats come into the match on a three-match winning streak following victories against then-No. 25 UCF, No. 29 Houston and GCU last weekend.
- Junior Martyna Ostrzygalo is 9-6 this season in singles and 2-2 in conference play.
- Junior Josie Usereau has an 8-4 record in singles with a 9-3 doubles record this spring.
Follow along
Fans can keep up with all the live action and news of Sun Devil Women’s Tennis by following @sundevilwtennis on Instagram and X, Sun Devil Women’s Tennis on Facebook, and on sundevils.com.